Gran Hotel Inglés

The oldest hotel in Madrid, on Calle de Echegaray

The Gran Hotel Inglés opened on 27 July 1886 on Calle de Echegaray, in the heart of the Barrio de las Letras, and boasts of having been the first hotel in Madrid with a restaurant and one of the first buildings with electric light. After a full restoration with the Rockwell Group studio, it is now a five-star hotel with Art Deco interiors that belongs to the Hidden Hotels group. Plaza de Santa Ana is two streets away and Puerta del Sol five minutes.

For a weekend treat in Madrid, the advantage is the neighbourhood: taverns at the door, the Prado and the Thyssen a stroll down Las Huertas and the theatres of Plaza de Santa Ana next door.

Rooms from 27 to 125 square metres

The deluxe, interior, is 27 m². The grand deluxe is 30 m² with a freestanding bath and views of the courtyards. The preferred rooms, from 30 to 33 m², are exterior with balconies; the premium, of 40 m², have up to three balconies. The executive rooms face inner courtyards and stand out for their sound insulation. Upstairs are the suites: the Meller, of 50 m², with a private terrace and jacuzzi; the Echegaray, of 60 m², with two bedrooms; the presidential, of 93 m², and the Royal Suite, of 125 m², with a butler.

The hotel does not publish fixed prices on its website: you see them in the booking engine when you choose dates.

Eating, drinking and going down to the bar

On the ground floor is Lobbyto, a restaurant serving updated Madrid cooking, with cocido on Saturdays and Sundays, and a cocktail bar with its own menu. On Thursday nights there is flamenco, on Fridays and Saturdays swing and rock and roll, and at weekends a brunch with live jazz. For wellbeing, a treatment area under old vaults. The concierge is part of Les Clefs d'Or, and the hotel offers chauffeur transfers and a parking service.

By metro, Sevilla (L2) and Sol (L1, L2 and L3) are a few minutes' walk.